Many factors are taken into consideration in the design of egg cartons. Egg protection, stackability, transportability, aesthetic appearance, print surface area, strength, weight, nestability/denestability, adaptability to accommodate various size eggs, and consistent manufacturing are factors which may be considered to varying degrees in the design of an egg carton.
Egg cartons are formed and trimmed from a single sheet of plastic material to integrally define a lid and a tray connected by a hinged area. The egg cartons are transported, typically by conveyer belt, to a printing machine and imprinted with an egg distributor's trade style, date, government mandated nutritional information, and retail information, such as UPC labels. The egg cartons are then nested one within another and packaged in bags or pallets for shipping to egg distributors. The distributor then fills the cartons with eggs at a filling station and transports the filled cartons to another location. The process of transport of filled egg cartons requires that cartons first be stacked in a stable arrangement such that when physically moved on a pallet the multitude of stacked, filled cartons are transportable without risk of falling off the pallet, falling out of the stacked arrangement, and/or otherwise moving or collapsing so as to cause damage to the eggs.